Palace Complete Campana Deal

I’m really excited and looking forward to meet all the boys and start as quickly as possible"

Jose Campana

Crystal Palace Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of Spanish youngster Jose Campana, subject to Premier League and FA clearance.

The 20-year-old midfielder has put pen to paper a four-year deal at Selhurst Park, after the Eagles agreed an undisclosed fee with La Liga side Sevilla.

Campana featured on more than 50 occasions for the Spanish outfit’s ‘B’ team, before making his senior debut as an 18-year-old in a 2-1 win over Malaga in August 2011.

He featured 15 times in La Liga during his first full season, with Sevilla going unbeaten in Campana’s first eight matches for the club – a run that included a 0-0 draw away to Barcelona. They went on to finish ninth in the league.

Having featured three times for Spain in the 2011 UEFA Under-19 European Football Championships, Campana starred again for his country in the 2012 tournament in Estonia, where he captained the side to a 1-0 final victory over Greece.

Campana played five league games for Sevilla last season, but his campaign was cut short by a fracture to his left foot.

He recovered from injury to captain the Spanish squad at this summer’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup. But despite winning all three group games, including a 2-1 win against eventual tournament winners France, Spain were knocked out by Uruguay at the quarter-final stage.

Campana’s displays at the tournament led to him being coveted by clubs across Europe, after he decided not to sign a new contract at Sevilla. And the starlet has now opted to sign a long-term deal at Palace, which will keep him at Selhurst Park until the end of June 2017.

Speaking exclusively to Palace Player via an interpreter, Campana said: “I’m delighted to become a Crystal Palace player. Over the last two years, I’ve had some problems with my hometown club, but I’m really excited to play in the Premier League.

“I think it’s a good step for me and I’m really excited and looking forward to meet all the boys and start as quickly as possible.

“I got the first interest through my agent, who said that Crystal Palace were interested and straight away I said ‘yes’ because for me it was a dream to play in England, especially in the Premier League. I hope to help the team stay in the league and then move forward.

“What I like to think are my best qualities are to keep the ball and to have good distribution. I have always been a typical Spanish midfielder and I like to move forward and score goals.

“I scored a lot of goals when I was in the academy at Sevilla. That’s what I want, but especially to keep the ball and to organise the team.”

Palace boss Ian Holloway said of his new signing: “I’m absolutely delighted. Everybody knows the way I want to try and play football and how fantastic Spain have been over the past few years, so I’m delighted to get a lad of this quality.

“I think he’s a fantastic player, his maturity is unbelievable, and the way he plays the game is the way I believe it should be played. He’s going to be a great star of the future and the present.

“We’re going to try and do as well as we can in this division and making signings like this is really going to help us.”